First post for C&C - thanks in advance

[Shelly1204]

I've been poking around here for a couple of months, learning as much as I can from every possible source. I've never taken a pic I've been happy with, but I'm getting to the point where I'd like to start getting some feedback on where I'm at. If you can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

ok, so (1) yeah, her foot looks like it's from a corpse. The color of her foot is completely different from the rest of her. I'm still getting used to checking the scene over in real time for issues like this. I usually discover it much too late. But, I'm not skilled enough in photoshop to realistically match the color of her foot to the rest of her. Any suggestions?

2) The line in the sidewalk is fairly distracting. should I 'shop it out? same with the threads on the bottom of the dress.

What else do you see that I can improve on?

Thanks!

 

[er111a]

wow shes pretty amazing photo, good work,.....wow I cant fine anything wrong with this photo.

 

[er111a]

hmmm just read the bottom of your post that is true both those should be fixed in ps imo

 

[JenLavazza]

Just select her foot with the "magic wand" or whatever your pp program calls it, refine edge to feather a bit so you don't get a hard line and play with the color curve and saturation.

GREAT photo though!!

 

[Ady]

Ask her to wear shoes for the next shoot :mrgreen:

 

[reznap]

First off... beautiful picture. The model is very visually appealing, the lighting is great, the framing is nice, the exposure seems to be about perfect.

I fixed it (her foot color) with a photoshop plugin called Viveza. Makes editing small areas like this EXTREMELY easy. I warmed up her feet.. so to speak, and a tiny bit on her left arm and right hand.

EDIT: Brushed frayed edges of dress, dodged shadows a bit.
Brought to my attention about 3 posts down by Ady

 

[Moe]

A very nice photo. Much better than I expected for a "first post." The issues you mention are minor, and has been said before, fixable. A very minor suggestion would be a reflector to camera right for a touch of fill on her left arm/hand. Still a great photo as is, though. What was your lighting setup?

 

[Ady]

Re lines in the path:

In retrospect did you think about using a throw/some kind of rug for het to sit on?

IMO I would brush the trailing threads out.

Perhaps some fill flash on right hand side?

I like the backdrop but can't help feeling she should be wearing somthing different - looks a bit raggy - maybe I am thinking swimwear? Not sure.....

 

[Shelly1204]

A very nice photo. Much better than I expected for a "first post." The issues you mention are minor, and has been said before, fixable. A very minor suggestion would be a reflector to camera right for a touch of fill on her left arm/hand. Still a great photo as is, though. What was your lighting setup?

Ahh, a reflector. I should've picked up on that! %$&# It is pretty dark over there. I'm still having an issue taking the pic on scene, and analyzing it through that tiny display for issues. I was too focused on the rule of thirds, framing, chiaroscuro, inverse square law, leading into the pic with red flowers, and a million other tips I'm still trying to digest, not to mention the gear. It's hard to look at that tiny display and see where you dropped the ball on scene. It's always later on, when I'm in Lightroom. Setup is a Ranger Quadra in an Octo camera left.

 

[Shelly1204]

Just select her foot with the "magic wand" or whatever your pp program calls it, refine edge to feather a bit so you don't get a hard line and play with the color curve and saturation.

GREAT photo though!!

I'll try that when I re-edit. Thanks.

 

[Moe]

Like I said, the reflector issue was minor; I wouldn't worry about it.

I know what you mean about trying to take it all in on the fly. I'm used to my wife being very patient with me while I check and adjust. The other day a friend had me take photos of a band he produced, and they weren't patient at all. (It was either him with a P&S or me. The bar wasn't high, so I thought I had nothing to lose.) I wasn't ready for that type of deal. I thought it was going to be laid back. They are older guys and don't really care; I think they were literally expecting one photo. I furiously shot, checked, adjusted aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and flash power. It was all over in 8 minutes (verified by EXIF). Sheesh, it was a pain. It made me realize I need to speed up before I do anything else like that. Things turned out ok and my friend is happy, but they are not as good as I would have liked. Live and learn.

Nice light setup, by the way.

 

[Derrel]

Nice job Shelly!!! Good positioning of the off-camera flash, and superb highlight control and highlight rendering. Better end result than many professionals achieve...

 

[Shelly1204]

Nice job Shelly!!! Good positioning of the off-camera flash, and superb highlight control and highlight rendering. Better end result than many professionals achieve...

Thanks for all your help Derrel :thumbup: Constantly learning....

 

[creisinger]

Very good start! Good model. Lighting is well planned and almost perfect.

I feel there is a bit too much contrast though. Maybe a reflector to the camera right would have pushed those shadows away on her right side.

The line in the walkway has to go. Yep photoshop it.

You will have to manually adjust the color on her foot/feet.

The only thing I would have done differently is positioning the model higher. I know she cannot be floating in the air but I don't like the bottom part of the bush in the background too much.

The upper part of the bush and the red flowers are perfect for background but the lower part is too dark compared to the rest of the background.

As a solution I would try to get a bench or large chair for her to lounge in because the pose is nice but just too low. I hope you understand what I mean.

The overall appearance of the image is very nice. Keep going!